Marc Jacobs, Vuitton’s creative director, first met Kusama back in 2006 when she customized a Louis bag for him with her signature dots. Then, back in February, the French fashion house offered some financial assistance to the artist’s exhibit at the Tate Modern. With a major retrospective planned at the Whitney Museum this summer, Vuitton will unveil its Kusama collaboration two days before that bows, on July 10.

“Louis Vuitton has outlets and fans all around the world and I hope, like with other collaborations, and expect, like other collaborations, that this will bring the work of Kusama to a new audience and that’s the audience of Louis Vuitton,” Jacobs said. “It continues something I began when I came here which is the idea of art and collaboration, or collaboration with artists. For many people who don’t look at art or go to galleries, or maybe they’re not aware of Kusama’s work, there will be a new venue, a new place to see this work and to come to appreciate it through the eyes of Louis Vuitton.”

The collaboration will include accessories as well as clothing — such as trenchcoats, silk pajamas, leggings and skirts — available in all 461 of Louis Vuitton’s global stores. A second collection featuring Kusama’s “nerves” motif on leather goods will arrive some time in October.

Next month, Vuitton will introduce a free iPhone app dedicated to the 83-year-old Kusama and her work, through which users can customize their pictures with her dots and other motifs. Vuitton is also planning pop-up shops with yet-to-be-named department and specialty stores as well as installations on par with Kusama’s museum exhibits.

“Her energy is just endless,” Jacobs said of Kusama. ”Through the painstaking sort of obsession in each of her canvasses and installations that she’s created, you see this world that never ends. I guess that’s what I admire and that’s what I respond to in terms of feeling for her and for her work.” [WWD (sub req'd), Vogue UK]

For the Pretentious Art Snob:  You’ve been there, done that, own everything and everyone so even the most avant garde installations leave you bored. But that doesn’t mean you have anything else to do.

The Museum of Modern Art
MoMA’s permanent collection boasts incredible modern and contemporary pieces but perhaps none cause as many yelps of glee as Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. The museum is currently open seven days a week, and late on Thurs – Sat until September 3 so there is no excuse not to get acquainted.

photo credit: www.moma.org

Why You Should Care
Fun Fact: Van Gogh created this painting while at an asylum in the south of France. It’s good to know that even before Charlie and Lindsay, the world always had talented wack-o’s.

Scholarly Snippit: The Starry Night combines real natural elements as well as creations driven by Van Gogh’s emotions and incorporates highly charged brushwork.

Vocab: Post-Impressionism describes changes to the accepted methods of painting landscapes and scenes of everyday life in the late 1800s, incorporating added focus on elements such as light, color, and brushwork.

photo credit: moma.org

photo credit: www.metmuseum.org

photo credit: www.whitney.org

photo credit: www.guggenheim.org

The folks at Keds must be pretty busy lately. After launching an awesome fall line for Gap, they’ve gone and collaborated with artist Jenny Holzer on these super cool Champion Sneakers ($90) now available on Bloomingdales.com. Proceeds from the shoe go straight to the Whitney Museum of American Art, as we told you last month – so you get an affordable piece of art, and the money goes back where it belongs. That’ll put a skip in your step.

LINK LOVE:Get Some Wearable Art–Jenny Holzer for Keds Line Available Starting Today

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There are artist T-shirts and then there are artist T-shirts . The first, an XL souvenir shirt with Monet’s lilies bought outside the Louvre, have little artistic merit. But there are these shirts, a collaboration between Adam Lippes and four of the hottest artists chosen by the Whitney Museum of American Art . The shirts are available in only two places — who said art should be accessible? —at our sale on Thursday, June 29th and at the Whitney Museum thereafter. We recently asked the four included for their inspiration.

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LINK LOVE:Art On Your Sleeve | ADAM for The Whitney Museum of American Art

Lots of stars came out for the Whitney Museum American Art Gala last night, but I thought Christina Ricci, here in Versace, was one of the best-dressed.  I’d never consider her a trend-setter, but she sure cleans up nice to look read carpet-ready.  I’m not into tramp stamps, but I’m willing to overlook it.  Just this once.

Photos from PopSugar.

I know everyone is talking about them, and most of you have probably seen them but these limited edition summer tees are pretty cool. The shirts feature bold designs by artists like Jeff Koons, Chuck Close, Kiki Smith, Marilyn Minter, Barbara Kruger, Glenn Ligon, Kenny Scharf, and Kerry James Marshall. I gotta say, these are pretty nifty, and at those prices, I think I’m going to join the rat pack and pick one up.